RPO "Behind the Scenes"

I have always been curious about how an orchestra puts together its schedule, since it seems to be a puzzle with so many interdependent pieces. So I was excited when I got the invitation to attend a Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra “Behind the Scenes” presentation, at which Dick Decker, RPO Vice President of Artistic Administration, would share “his insight on crafting the upcoming concert series.” Who, you might ask? It turns out Dick Decker is the wizard behind the RPO curtain. In order to put together a season, he coordinates with the RPO conductors (Stare, Tyzik, Butterman, and Seaman), the RPO musicians, and the potential guest artists and conductors and their agents, all while keeping his eye on the budget.

There was the potential for this to be a pretty dry presentation, but Decker actually has quite a sense of humor. For example, Stare puts together his initial wish list, regardless of budget or audience appetite for a performance, and then the discussion begins, with Decker trying to be as supportive as he can; but he admitted that “every now and then we agree to disagree.” He occasionally peppered his talk by hitting a button that said “no no no no” to emphasize when he’d had to push back against something Stare wanted. Decker is “an ombudsman for the audience” as well as the orchestra, as he demonstrated when he said “no” to a really heavy opera Stare favored. He hit that button again when he told us his reply to Stare’s desire to do an opera “festival” (thank you, Dick Decker!).

Stare’s programming initiatives for the 2016/2017 season are fairly ambitious: to showcase our wonderful orchestra (including featuring them as soloists) while also bringing in dynamic guest artists (including vocal soloists), to balance well known symphonic works with newer works, and to make room in the season for American music as well as opera. In addition, he wanted personally to participate in concerts series beyond the regular Philharmonic evenings, like the Sunday series, and concerts for elementary students and in the broader community.

The season planning process begins with determining the available Kodak Hall dates after the Eastman School of Music sets its schedule (e.g., for opera, Meliora, Eastman Presents, Jazz Festival). The Pops are scheduled first, to fit Tyzik’s schedule, and what’s left are the nights for the Philharmonics. Then they look at repertoire, with an eye towards balancing various concerns: works that are new, challenging, and interesting for the orchestra vs. familiar and comfortable to the audience; works the RPO already owns or that are in the public domain vs. new (written in the last 75 years) works that can be expensive to rent; larger works requiring extra musicians at $1000 apiece vs. smaller similar works.

The guest artist and guest conductor piece of the puzzle can get quite challenging. For example, while the RPO generally plans 18-months out, many “top of the food chain” guests artists, like Yo-Yo Ma, are booking 4-5 years out! Decker also told the story of almost scheduling Lisa Batiashvili, renowned Georgian violinist, whom the RPO could not normally afford. Apparently, she was looking to fill a particular date in her touring schedule (also to bolster her visa application), and would work within the RPO’s budget. Alas, after much back and forth, the date fell through.

In selecting guest artists, Stare and Decker consider the artists’ history (have they been here before, and when?), availability, repertoire, and fees, as well as the RPO musicians’ wishes and experiences (particularly true when selecting guest conductors). Decker ran us through the evolution of several performances on the schedule, showing how the first and last drafts are often completely different. For example, for the Fabien Gabel program, the proposed set was completely changed after Gabel and Juliane Athayde consulted, and included a piece that Stare had to reject, because he wanted to conduct it himself! There is also back and forth with guest artists about the repertoire, with “artists higher up the food chain” (a favorite expression) having more input.

Decker packed a lot of information (and slides) into an hour, and I left with an immense appreciation of the care and effort that goes into selecting a season in general, and the upcoming one in particular. We are lucky to have such a wonderful group of musicians in the RPO, and to have someone like Decker working to ensure that the organization is appreciated and sustainable.

For more information on the upcoming season: http://www.rpo.org/s_1/s_301/2016-17_Subscriptions/